Pretty sure I'm running the stock game (1.05F ?). I DLed it from Matrix a couple days ago. I got a rig that is within requirements but not overly powerful.
1) Had to reconfigure some graphics settings to get the game to run smoothly. That was annoying, but I guess I shouldn't complain given I'm running a fairly middle-to-low-end rig, and have not updated my drivers or anything like that . . . NO MORE PROBLEMS WITH THIS EVER SINCE, AND NO RECURRENCE SINCE INSTALLING PATCH 1.06
2) Since DLing and playing about 12 of 15 hours in the last 3 days, I've had at least 7 maybe 10 CTDs. The last three times it happened I had my taskmanager running and checked the processing running that were hung. All three times it was WW1Main.exe that had the CPU maxed out and was unresponsive. In short, its a bit of a memory hog, and has a tendency to go insane on you. Annoying for a game that I just paid $50 for to be buggy and choppy in performance . . . I don't really care, annoying is what I call it. I wouldn't pay $50 for me and the wife to go out for a meal at a nice restaurant, and be 'okay' with it if the food came out cold. Neither should we gamers be okay with shelling out $50 for a game that runs half-way.
NO RECURRENCE SINCE INSTALLING PATCH 1.06
Related to point (2): AI ops, map and game initialization, etc., all seem to be rather slow.
SINCE INSTALLING PATCH 1.06 GAME SEEMS TO HAVE SPEEDED UP CONSIDERABLY. WAIT TIMES NOW SEEM TOTALLY REASONABLE, AND HANGS ARE BRIEF AND NEVER TERMINAL.
Please fix it AGEOD.
3) It really is a beautiful game. Nice balance between map art, unit icons, and on-map sprites, the music, the text and background . . . all beautiful and well-executed design. The game balance, conception, and basic engine operation also are some of the most promising I've seen. Right now I can't say much about the most complex game mode (army-by-army turns or whatever they're calling it) cause there is a bug and the patch is not out yet, but assuming they can actually get it running smoothly, it sounds like it will be an amazingly realistic simulation of early 20th century command and control limitations. The attention to detail and richness of events, political information, the depth and breadth of civil, military, and planning elements . . . all top-notch. If the game just ran smoothly, I would be so jazzed to give this one a top rating.
SINCE PATCH 1.06, IT NOW SEEMS TO BE 'RUNNING SMOOTHLY' AND _YES_ IT REALLY IS A BEAUTIFUL GAME!
4) Point-n-click interface on naval units is really, REALLY clunky. I should not have to point-n-click, point-n-click, point-n-click 6 or 7 times in a row just to get a fleet to select for movement, or 10 or 15 times in a row to get it to merge with another fleet. There are similar problems with the land units but it does not appear to be as bad. Likewise, some of the map modes are a bit difficult to follow.
THIS STILL SHOWS PROBLEMS IN 3D MODE, EVEN WITH 1.06 PATCH, BUT A REASONABLY EASY WORKAROUND IS TO SWITCH BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN 2D AND 3D MODE.
5) If there are in fact ways to: (a) transfer Mediterranean fleets past Gibraltar and into the Atlantic or to (b) transfer Atlantic fleets on the Atlantic hemisphere mini-map into the main Europe map, they are NOT the least bit obvious and have defied my repeated and persistent efforts to discover (lots more point-n-clicking). If there is NOT a way to transfer ships from the farflung parts of the globe then why not? I can get my fleets on the Pacific mini-map over to the Atlantic mini-map, which is an enormous distance, so why should I not be able to get my Atlantic mini-map fleets up to England and Denmark? (which is not nearly such a long distance after all).
I searched the manual for "ocean" = nothing; "sea" = one or two entries that did nothing to help; "off-map" = one entry. "mini-map" = equally unhelpful for figuring out if it is possible to transfer fleets off the mini-maps to the main Euro map or if so how to do it.
STILL HAVE NOT GOT A FINAL ANSWER ON THIS QUESTION. PATRA AND I SUSPECT THAT GERMAN OVERSEAS FLEETS AND MED FLEETS ARE RESTRICTED FROM MOVING BACK TO MAIN EUROPE WATERS
6) My last complaint is fairly minor, but it deserves to be said. I respect that the game was made in France by French speakers, but I bought it in English. Much of the language in game, in tutorial, in the manual, etc., is less than 'good' English. A small negative, which by itself would be almost unmentionable but in view of the rest of the issues it is something that cannot go unnoticed by a half-way annoyed gamer who is wondering if he just got half-way swindled.
WELL, LIKE I SAID BEFORE: MINOR
I wish you guys nothing but the best, and hope you will receive my review in the manner in which it was intended: helpful, constructive criticism to help you get your stuff straight so that this game can really live up to its full potential. This game has tremendous potential; indeed, I'd say that if it were to be fully squared away, it would be one of the best games in the last few years. But that is still quite a bit of work away for you fellas, and probably quite a few patch installs away for us customers.
) and such news make me happy at least... 
